8
votes
Accepted
Silver Solder specifications for hot end heating element
The first is not suitable. ASTM96TS Sn96Ag4 has a melting point of 221–229 °C according to Wikipedia. Pb96Ag4 would be OK, but that is not lead free so doesn't seem to match your description. ...
- 3,792
8
votes
Accepted
Can I use a multimeter to test the outgoing voltage of this power supply?
If your multimeter can handle the voltage, it should be safe. 12 V should be in the capability range of common multimeters, so I would tend to say yes, - but make sure that your multimeter can ...
- 2,924
8
votes
Accepted
Is this fuse a good choice for my Prusa i3's power supply and RAMPS 1.4?
No, do not use this fuse. The current rating is too high to be reasonable for your printer. It will "work" in the sense that your printer will get power, but it won't provide anywhere near as much ...
- 6,536
7
votes
Accepted
When building a RAMPS 1.4 based printer, can I safely plugin just some of the components to test if they are working?
If by components you mean motors, fans, or heated bed, then yes. This is even suggested in the Final Setup instructions on the RAMPS wiki.
If you think you may have mistakes (in your setup) you can ...
- 1,551
7
votes
How do you make sure you have the right voltage on the trimpots on an A4988 stepper driver?
I want to add some points and clarifications to the answer that @darthpixel already has given. Most information you need is in there, I want to give some more practical advice, since that is what I ...
- 2,924
6
votes
Accepted
What grade of wire is required for the heating element on a J-Head extruder?
There are a number of things to consider:
Wire Gauge: a typical 40W, 12V heater draws around 3A. 24 AWG or lower would be appropriate (copper wire, CCA will require thicker gauge).
Insulation: the ...
- 14.7k
6
votes
Accepted
Frightened of Cheap Chinese Power Supply as I hook up the heated bed
A MK2 heatbed will draw around 12A. The motors and hotend draw only very little power (around 2A, 5A peak), so the 30A supply you have has significant headroom (it is often recommended to derate a ...
- 14.7k
6
votes
Accepted
How do you make sure you have the right voltage on the trimpots on an A4988 stepper driver?
Generally speaking voltage on stepstick output should be around 1V.
To imagine more or less what the current and what the voltage is, you can think about it in the same way as about water.
The wire ...
- 3,456
6
votes
Is the weather a problem for MDF frames?
I want to add the following to the already direct and very good answer of @Dani Epstein. It does not answer your question, but hopefully may help many people who are reading the question when choosing ...
- 2,924
5
votes
Accepted
Is the weather a problem for MDF frames?
Generally speaking, MDF will weather OK. In areas of high humidity you might experience warpage, but you can mitigate that by sealing the surface with paint or varnish. However you will probably find ...
- 321
5
votes
Accepted
Print Nozzle Dragging and Smearing Filament while Printing
You stated your print of a 20mm cube came out spot on so I will rule out any z-axis configuration issues. It clearly seems like you are extruding too much plastic.
I use slic3r myself with repetier ...
4
votes
Accepted
3D printer stepper motors only going one direction and skipping in the other
From an electrical standpoint, a two-phase stepper motors (what most 3D printers use) works the same backwards and forwards, the phase just reverses. If you are stalling on only one direction, I ...
- 2,452
4
votes
Silver Solder specifications for hot end heating element
Use ferrules to join wires, and on your board either solder directly (it doesn't matter what solder you use because it's not going to get hot if your wires are gauged properly). Or use soft copper ...
- 41
4
votes
Accepted
Heater cartridge connector for Original Prusa i3 MK2S
This is referred to as a Terminal Block Connector. More specifically this is a 2-position pluggable terminal block connector commonly manufactured by Phoenix Contact and others.
Newark.com Sale ...
- 56
4
votes
When building a RAMPS 1.4 based printer, can I safely plugin just some of the components to test if they are working?
Yes, you can. By leaving components unplugged you would simply have some pins powered that are not in use. But even with all your components plugged in, you would still have some unused, powered pins ...
- 3,987
4
votes
Accepted
How is a J-Head Extruder Head attached to the Prusa i3 rework?
It looks like the hotend may not be all the way in, are you sure it's not stuck?
If it's stuck and you can get it in further, those holes should go directly through the smaller ring on top of the J-...
- 2,090
4
votes
Selecting G-code files from SD with serial
You can send the G Codes to select and print a file over the serial connection.
List the files
M20
Select a file name
M23 filename.gco
Start/Resue the print
M24
See https://reprap.org/...
- 61
3
votes
When building a RAMPS 1.4 based printer, can I safely plugin just some of the components to test if they are working?
As others have also said, this is generally fine. The main things I'd avoid are:
Don't plug or unplug "heavy" items (mainly motors and heaters) with power on; turn everything off first. This is ...
- 3,201
3
votes
Accepted
My endstops have 4 female plugs, but the examples on the RepRap Prusa i3 Site have 3; what are each of them for?
The website shows exactly what each wire is for. Both middle wires are ground, the wire on the same side as the lever is the signal wire and the last wire is the power wire.
- 2,090
3
votes
Accepted
Connecting Sain Smart Mechanical End Stops to Ramps 1.4?
The multiple connections are redundant. Your picture indicates the wires labelled as "SIGNAL, GND, GND, VCC". This is correct if the board is a "standard" mechanical endstop v1.2. The two middle pins ...
- 14.7k
2
votes
Safely Hooking a Switch up to an OEM Power Supply?
The power supply that you posted is 12v 360w. This means that (in the USA with 120v power), it will draw 3 amps at 120v. Your switch is rated for 10A at 250V so it works.
The switch should be ...
- 2,258
2
votes
Accepted
Safely Hooking a Switch up to an OEM Power Supply?
At 250V a rating for 10A means 2500 Watts, which is fairly enough to use with a typical 3D printer. Make sure that the wire you use to connect the switch to the power supply can also take the current ...
- 2,924
2
votes
Why does my MKS Base not recognize my thermistors?
You should:
Ensure that firmware has proper thermistor configuration. For details see this video tutorial.
Verify that your thermistor works properly. Measure voltage on it. It should be around 5V on ...
- 1,911
2
votes
Frightened of Cheap Chinese Power Supply as I hook up the heated bed
I've used a similar cheap psu before. It'll work without blowing up but my heatbed struggled to get up to 60c, swapped psus with one I had lying around from a desktop and there was a huge difference.
- 21
2
votes
How do I determine that the electronics are working with the test firmware?
Running this kind of test isn't really necessary; it provides a nice test to see if everything is working but so does uploading actual firmware (and this isn't any safer than traditional firmware, at ...
- 14.7k
2
votes
Magnetic field around the printer
The heated bed is a big PCB whose traces can act like a coil since heating the bed makes current flow through these traces.
By placing a metal object over it, you encounter a phenomenon called ...
- 163
2
votes
Silver Solder specifications for hot end heating element
I can't comment yet, but for those wondering, the issue with tinning the wires is when you are clamping them. Tinning them actually increases the resistance between the wires and terminal, due to ...
- 181
2
votes
Changing the home position on a Prusa i3 MK2
Consider the original installation with the orientation of the Pinda probe to the nozzle. Let's say for argument's sake that the Pinda probe is 3 mm to the right and directly in line with the nozzle ...
- 11.3k
1
vote
3D printer stepper motors only going one direction and skipping in the other
Sounds like you are configured for NC switches but are using NO switches, causing them to invert their reported state. Issue a M119 command and see if the endstop statuses are correct when none are ...
- 239
1
vote
Prusa I3 starting print above heating bed?
Try setting your "First Layer Height" to 0. This should resolve the issue and will make homing your Z axis a bit easier.
- 19
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